Syracuse, N.Y. -- The state Senate wants to restore funding to the state’s popular Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage — EPIC for short — program so seniors will pay less out of pocket for their prescription drugs.

The Senate’s budget proposal would restore about $48 million to EPIC, reversing cuts that took effect in January that eliminated much of the help EPIC provides seniors with their co-pays.

Restoring money for EPIC is far from a done deal because the Assembly budget proposal does not include a similar provision.

EPIC used to help people 65 and older pay most out-of-pocket expenses associated with their Medicare Part D prescription drug plans.

Co-payments for prescriptions never used to exceed $20 for EPIC enrollees. After the cuts took effect in January, enrollees’ co-pays increased to 25 percent of their prescription costs. That means co-pays now exceed $100 for some drugs.

Sen. David Valesky, D-Oneida, said he’s heard from many EPIC enrollees unhappy about the cuts.

“People are saying, ‘You are forcing me to choose between my prescription drugs and food on the table,’” Valesky said. “All of us legislators should be concerned about that.”

Valesky chairs the Senate’s aging committee. Valesky said he made restoration of funding to EPIC a top priority for that committee.

Members of the Senate and Assembly will meet this week and try to negotiate a compromise between their budget proposals. Bill Ferris, a lobbyist for AARP, said his organization is hoping EPIC funding restoration survives those negotiations and ultimately wins the support of Gov. Cuomo.

“We have been hearing stories of people crying at the pharmacy counter and walking away without their drugs,” Ferris said. “ We cannot allow that to continue in New York.”

An analysis by AARP shows the typical senior enrolled in the program is a 78-year-old widow with an annual income of $20,600 who takes four prescription drugs each month.

There are about 16,000 EPIC enrollees in Central New York.

The Senate proposal also would provide co-payment assistance to an estimated 45,000 EPIC enrollees who become eligible for catastrophic coverage under their Medicare Part D plans. EPIC enrollees with total drug costs exceeding $6,658 are currently paying 5 percent of the cost of their drugs at the counter. Ferris said this can be a problem because those people are often taking drugs that cost thousands of dollars per prescription for cancer-related conditions or multiple sclerosis.

The state cut the EPIC program last year because of the state’s budget crisis.

Under the Senate proposal, the overall $132.5 billion budget would not increase in size.

“We are reprioritizing spending throughout the budget,” Valesky said. “We believe EPIC is a program worth restoring.”